Cagliari, Sardinia

Setting up the storm jib

After a midday departure from Palma, Mallorca we had hoped to sail to Sicily. Initially we had good winds (requiring several reefs) in the main and geona but as the wind continued to increase our pointing angle become less favourable resulting in a reduction in our Velocity Made Good (VMG) to our destination.  In an attempt to improve our pointing (sailing) angle, we decided to furl our genoa and raise the storm sail (jib) which made for a more comfortable boat motion and improved our pointing angle, ie better VMG. This was also a good opportunity to test our procedures for using this bit of safety kit. Surprisingly, Sabbaticus still achieved a maximum speed of 8.2kts in this configuration. 

Porto Teulada anchorage

The wind then lightened considerably, the seas flattened and we ended up motoring for 38hrs - which was very frustrating. With no more wind forecast we motored direct for Sardinia. The entire passage was 311NM which equated to three nights at sea. On arrival in Sardinia we anchored on the south coast in a lovely bay outside Porto Teulada. We felt quite at home with a Chinook flying over several times and hearing the firing from a military rifle range in  the distance. 

Cagliari waterfront

After a peaceful night at anchor we then moved around the coast into Cagliari passing many beautiful white sandy bays on the way to Marina di Sant'Elmo. We thought we would be able to sail this short leg in light winds. However, after motoring East for an hour into wind and then turning the corner to head Nth we thought we would be on a beam reach for the 20 miles to our destination but, you guessed it, round the corner and a 90 deg wind shift - the wind was on the nose again!!!!  Not to worry, we motored into Cagliari on a beautiful day with perfectly calm seas arriving at the Marina in the late afternoon - in daylight (a unique experience for us). 
  

The Castello - ancient fortifications

Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily) and is a region of Italy. Cagliari is the capital of Sardinia and is the largest city (approx 455,000) on the island. As an ancient city, occupied for 5,000 years, it has a long history that includes the Greeks, Etrusans Romans, Normans, Spanish and French rulers - quite different to our short NZ history. We spent several days ambling through the cobblestone historic quarters, visiting the local markets, viewing the many church's, taking time out for coffee/pastries and enjoying the ambiance of the medieval city.

So many choices ...

As we are learning the simple boat tasks can take a surprisingly amount of time in a foreign country. For example a customs clearance was a three hour process for Leanne. This included the walk to the customs office and a 1 1/2hr visit explaining the NZ bilateral visa agreement with Italy and the need for a passport stamp. After lots of discussions between the Customs Officers' and numerous telephone calls thankfully the Officer finally acquiesced and our passports were stamped - phew! Finding a suitable data plan for the cell phone proved harder for John, requiring three visits to the shop (which was inexplicably closed for no apparent reason) over three days to finally secure a data plan.

We used the time at the marina to complete a treatment on the teak deck against the inevitable mould and algae that occur. We started this job late in the day to ensure the teak stayed damp after the boat wash and between each application of the boracol product. Hopefully in ten days we will see the results and only have to repeat the treatment bi-annually now to maintain the teak. On another afternoon while  Leanne was busy cleaning the topsides, John swam around Sabbaticus's waterline removing the algae that builds up. 

Some photo's below from our Cagliari wanderings.

 

View from Marina di Sant'Elmo

Altea to Palma, Mallorca

Winch Repairs

This passage to the island of Mallorca, which is one of the four main islands that forms the Balearic Islands (Spanish territory), was a short 150Nm distance but took us three days. Fortunately we did not have to be in Palma until 8 Apr to collect our spares so we had the luxury of time. With light winds for most of the passage it was a busy trip with tacking, sails up, engine off, sails down, engine on ...repeatedly! During one tack in the early hours the port winch failed (in manual mode) under load and then failed to turn. This was the same winch we had replaced the control box and switch in Gibraltar (we were scheduled to uplift a new control box for it in Palma to enable electric operation). With the wind dying we decided to anchor in San Antoni Bay in Ibiza and fix the winch.  While I had a hot shower and prepared breakfast John had stripped the winch and replaced the pawls. While the winch was tested (manual mode) and working we decided to stay the day to wait for the wind and catch up on sleep. 

Entertained by windsurfers at anchor

After a leisurely midday departure and a couple of hours of sailing we then diverted into another Ibiza bay to wait for wind. Setting the alarm clock every 2 hours we finally left at 0530hrs when the wind shift came through. We then had a great sail to Palma in Mallorca. With 2NM to go the wind picked up suddenly to 45kts and caught us by surprise.  It was then a lot of shouting to get all the sails down - thankfully achieved without damage.  We then anchored off Isle de Porassa for several nights before moving around to Palma Nova and anchoring off the beach.There was a small marina close by so we were able to go ashore most days for the obligatory coffee for wifi and leave our dinghy in the marina. While at anchor enjoying the sundowners on deck we were visited by Spanish Customs - thankfully it was a short visit with no search required.

We caught the bus into Palma (approx 530,000 population) which is the capital

Cathedral Sainta Maria

of the Balearic Islands and visited the predominately Gothic Cathedral built in 1601. The medieval old town surrounding the cathedral was the perfect place meander along the narrow streets soaking up the ambience and history. Palma's main industry is tourism and yachting with the marinas/waterfront at the heart of Palma. This is the superyacht capital of the Med and has the infrastructure to support it. For once we were able to purchase all our spares and have a choice of chandleries - luxury after Gibraltar. 

Superyacht mecca

As expected, being the superyacht base the prices matched - we arrived in mid-season and a berth was E75 per night, in high season the cost is E199. There are six marina's in Palma with several thousand yachts in the marina's so plenty of activity and sights to see.   

The installation in progress

The key reason we came to Palma was to install a new hot water cylinder and install a new (the second) control box for the port winch (again). Sam from Oyster customer support in the UK provided excellent logistics support ensuring all parts for the hot water installation arrived in Palma, complete with colour photo's and instructions on how to hook up the various inlets and outlets. Likewise, Lewmar couriered us a replacement winch control box to install.

Job completed

This stopover was a busy time for John completing the installations and testing the systems. I kept busy washing the boat down from all the salt which takes about 4hrs to complete by yourself, doing several loads of washing, defrosting the fridge and freezer, purchasing spares, grocery shopping, updating the inventory, re-locating the extra stores and updating the blog. Our three days in the marina quickly passed and we are now ready for the next passage to either Sardinia to Sicily. This will be a relatively slow passage based on the current wind, but if we don't depart now it will be another 10 day delay.   

Below are some photos from Palma.

Sabbaticus anchored at Palma Nova

Local bakery - we already miss our fresh baguettes!

'Front Door' view from our berth towards Santa Catalina 

'Right Back Door' view

'Left Back Door' view